by him, and professed to receive his commands as the rule of their duty, and who rejoiced in the declaration, This is life eternal to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

He said that he denied to them the name of Christians, because they did not believe in the proper divinity of Jesus Christ, nor in his atoning blood. As to the eternal life, he thought Unitarians did not believe in that. He said he had read some of their publications, and that, as they did not believe according to their works, in the existence of the devil, as a living being, he had presumed they did not believe in immortality.

Unitarians not believe in immortality! Where in the whole volume of sacred literature can be found more fervent and powerful vindications of the truth of the Eternal Life, and assertions of the emptiness of all knowledge without this truth, and the vanity of all mortal existence without faith in the immortality of the soul, than in the writings of Unitarians.

I took the liberty to advise my Christian brother to make himself better acquainted with the faith of his fellow men, before he excluded them from the ranks of the followers of Christ, and spoke of them in contumely to an unbeliever, whose very argument was founded upon or certainly strengthened by his uncharitable and ignorant assertions. He replied very properly that he did not willingly misrepresent, and if he had at all mistaken the views of Unitarians, he was happy to be better informed.

Here this conversation stopped, and we talked of other matters. Laying aside all talk on doctrines, I enjoyed the gentleman's conversation very much, was impressed with the apparent depth of his piety, and was delighted to find my religious sympathies so much interested in communing with one who had a little while before denied me the Christian name.

s. 0.

ART. 10. THE CHURCH SAFE.

He who has not taken the journey from New Orleans to St. Louis or Cincinnati, during the winter season, can hardly tell how extremely tedious it at last becomes. To those who cannot read, work, or gamble, it is a dreadfully stupid time; and they have to take refuge in their berths during half the day, from the burden of idleness. I would advise all who are going

such a journey to take some work, some book to study-something to write-or in short, some one regular occupation, to which they can attach their thoughts, and keep their minds from utter dissipation and vacancy.

I am writing under such circumstances. Dinner is overthe passengers of our boat, few in number, are, some of them, in their berths; others are playing whist by the stove; others are engaged in reading some tracts and books which I laid out for that purpose, upon the table. I myself have just been looking over a little collection of Calvinistic tracts which I happened to espy, and which no one seemed inclined to read. Whereupon I undertook its perusal myself, and stumbled first upon that admirable tract of Dr. Payson's, called "An Address to Seamen." Delighted with my first experience, I went on, and came to another which pleased me less-videlicet-Jon. Edwards' account of his conversion, which appeared to amount to this-that having been reared by pious parents, and having been pious from infancy, he at last became much more pious, so that he really took great delight in religion. All which is very well to write down in a journal, but not so well to print, publish, and send all over the world. Not discouraged, however, I turned over the leaf, and was rewarded by a beautiful little gem called "Temper is every thing." It was like a lump of sugar in a tumbler of lemon juice and water, though, lest I give offence, I shall avoid designating more particularly the sour and the watery articles contained in this book. Enough that the above mentioned tract was any thing but Calvinistic in its view of the tests of true religion; the writer taking the bold and novel ground, that if any man had not the spirit of Christ, he was none of his-and that the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, &c. To be sure, he seemed a little afraid at the close, of being thought legal and Arminian; for he appeared to have lived before the term Unitarian was used to express such kind of views. Nevertheless, we rejoiced in spirit at seeing the antidote thus mingled with the bane; and went on to an account of the awful end of the Hon. Francis Newport, the date of whose birth and death are very minutely stated. As no references are given to the authorities from which the account is derived, we cannot say whether it is meant to be received as historical truth, or only to appear as such, like Defoe's History of the Plague. We wish, however, that theologians would more frequently state, whether their stories from pulpit and press are to be taken literally, or as apologues or moral fictions. In this way they would save themselves from the charge of narrating "a lie with a circumstance."

In this Hon Francis Newport story we find nothing either true or useful. The amount of it is, that having been a Christian, he became an infidel, and then, though fully convinced of his error, and condemning his own life, and abhorring his sin, he was unable to get any peace, and died in horror and despair. Now, granting the story true; what does it prove? Because he had these feelings, because he believed himself abandoned by God, was he therefore abandoned? Are our feelings which depend so much on our education; and on accident, to be made a standard when we have the word of God to refer to?-which word say, Whoso will, let him come and drink freely of the water of life.

Are moods of the mind, and clouded thoughts to make void the glorious gorel? What mean these stories which are so often told about despairing death-beds? Do you mean to say, gentlemen-do you dure to say, that such a state of mind is evidence of the soul's condition? Be honest, and take that ground, or else tell no more stories of this sort. And if you do take that ground, we will give you case after case of the most pious and exemplary Christians who have fully believed themselves cast off, and for aken of God. Were they so? Was the pious Cowper given over to a reprobate mind? He was fully convinced of it. Was it insanity? On every other point he was sane--he wrote his Hymns, he translated Homer, he composed his sweet letters, and his delightful Task under the pressure of this conviction that he had committed the unpardonable sin, and grieved away the spirit of God. Now we want to know whether this belief of his is to be taken as evidence of the fact-and if not in his case, why in any other? And why do you tell those stories? Is it not to make void God's promise, and Christ's Gospel, and to agitate and disturb souls, which it is your business to sooth by the Christian balm of love. Do you hope to get a control over them in this way and bend them to your will or your belief-or in the name of all that is true, what is your motive and design?

After this, we came to a Tract, called "The Church safe." The object of the Tract is to show that the Church is safe; that Christianity must triumph; that the world must be converted. All this we fully believe; we believe it because Christianity is founded on a rock; because it is adapted to the wants of human nature; because in its most corrupt forms, it carries a consolation to the house of mourning, and brightens with its light the mystery of the grave. We believe it, because religion is a demand of our nature-and Christianity the best supply of that demand. In all this we agree with the writer

of the tract, we presume, but his chief reasons seem to us sin gularly inconclusive, and empty. He dwells chiefly and emphatically on what is now doing for Christianity. Now we see things so differently that we must state our disagreement. He dweils wholly on the outward mechanical operations of Bible Societies; translations of scriptures; missionary efforts. "How numerous and extensive the Revivals!" "What other page of church history could record an almost universal concert of prayer?" Bible, missionary, education, temperance societies;" "Theological Seminaries;" "Churches giving MONEY to the heathen!"

Wonderful!

Now is it not a little singular that a Christian man should sit down to give an account of the state of the church and wholly omit the Christian graces? He says nothing about the amount of Faith, hope, and charity in individual hearts. I confess, one authentic biography like that of Oberlin or Mrs. Fry, would give me more hope for the church than all the societies and machinery on which he lays such stress. The only true signs of the church's progress is an elevation of its spiritual condition-more manifestation of a Christian spirit; more love; more forgiveness; more meekness; more humility, more charity: if these things be in you, and abound, they will cause that you be not barren nor unfruitful in the Lord.

But this, though the question, our friend does not even mention. The spiritual state of the church he does not notice. All the mechanical operations may even interfere with the growth of a Christian spirit in the hearts of men. When they talk thus boa tingly of their outward works-when they say, "I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess"-it is a pretty sure sign that the spirit is dying away within.

But waiving this question, would it not have been better to have asked, what are the effects of these operations? Is the world coming into the church or not? While I write, I am surrounded with the voice of blasphemy and cursing. Not a man in the cabin, probably, but myself, professes himself a Christian, in this Christian country. Whose fault is this? When the sects are adding up their numbers, and their communicants, it seems as if they would include the whole community-but take a walk through the street-get into a stage-go to a public meeting, and where are the Christians? Look into the current literature of the day--where is Christianity? Look at the political world-where is its Christianity, its sense of responsibility? And is the "Church safe," when she does so little for those who are all around her and who have

the best opportunity of seeing her good works, and glorifying her Father in Heaven.

Finally, we do not place our hopes of the progress of the church of Christ upon any of the machinery we see in operation, or upon any of its outward works. It is not from "money given" to "Bible Societies," "Theological Seminaries," "Foreign and Domestic Missions," "Temperance Societies," or from revivals and concerts of Prayer; good and admirable as all these are as means: that we hope a speedy coming of the kingdom of God. But-

When the church shall not only give a part of its money to religious societies, but shall plainly manifest to the world that it is free from a money-getting and money-saving spirit

When those who patronise Bible Societies are as familiar with the practical, soul-subduing, and sanctifying parts of scripture as they now are with the proof-texts of their own party

When Theological Seminaries cease to be put up as forts, from which new school shall batter old school, or Princeton canonnade New-Haven; but shall receive contributions and students from all parties in the church universal—

When the sailors from Christendom who carry the foreign missionary to India or the Sandwich Islands, shall teach the natives less vice in a month, than he of virtue in a year

When the domestic missionary has brought matters so far forward, that in any given place those who love to be washed, and those who love to be sprinkled; those who admire a Pope, those who laud Bishops, and those who prefer Presbytersthose who say, I am of Wesley, and I of Calvin, and I of Campbell, &c. shall be so of one heart and soul, as to give occasion to the world about to say, "See, how they love one another!"

When Temperance Societies shall be conducted always in a temperate manner, and Revivals prove revivals of Love, Joy, and Peace; and concerts of Prayer be ever accompanied with visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and Sama-ritan-like deeds of charity and self-denial

THEN, shall we also believe the day-star is rising in the hearts of mankind; and will pledge ourselves also to write a tract, and name it THE CHURCH Safe.

ED.